Implementing of Kur'a -yı Şer'iyye Method of Dated 1846 in Maraş and Its Surroundings

Together with the declaration of Edict of Tanzimat, there had been radical changes in the administrative, political, legal and socio-economic structure of the Ottoman State. Various laws and practices that were already in practice were left aside and new structure was sought. Edict of Tanzimat included principles such as life, property and honor security, equality, justice, private property, military service. As a matter of fact, it was stated that the army was reorganized in 1843 and the soldiers would be selected from the people who came to military service with Kur'a method. With the arrangements made on this date, the duration of the military service was abbreviated and the basic military structure started to be formed until the demise of the Ottoman State.
In 1846, Kur'a method was adopted as a new practice in military recruitment. The Kura method was created in order to implement a fairer decision-making mechanism by eliminating personal effects in the army's recruitment. Thus, it was desired to take into consideration the injustice and irregularity. Although there was great sensitivity to the practice of the Kur'a method, it appeared that some parts of the state was faced with social reactions. As a result of the provocations of some people during the method of Kura, some regions opposed to the practice, sometimes even armed conflicts had come to fruition. The subject of the article is mainly the application of Kur'a method in Maraş and its surroundings. The reflection of this application in Maras is examined by using archive documents.